1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to electronic circuits in general and in particular to a cell based register. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for a limited switch dynamic logic cell based register.
2. Description of the Related Art
High performance designs use ever-increasing clock frequencies to obtain the desired processor performance. Clock power dissipation may depend on the distribution network and the total transistor gate load driven by a clock signal. With each new generation of micro processors, the loads have increased on the clock systems. Currently, loads on the clock systems have turned out to be a dominant source of power consumption for modern processors.
In reducing power consumption, limited switch dynamic logic circuits have been used to reduce the consumption of power in addition to reducing the area needed for circuits. These circuits integrate dynamic logic and latches. Dynamic logic circuits provide two benefits compared to static circuits. These types of circuits proved high switching speed and use a smaller area. Power consumption is the trade off that designers make when implementing designs with dynamic circuits. The goal of a limited switch dynamic logic circuit is to benefit from the performance advantages of dynamic logic without enduring the power penalty. Limited switch dynamic logic circuits mitigate this penalty by adding a latch to the output of a dynamic circuit.
Limited switch dynamic logic gates include two sections. These sections are a dynamic logic style front and a latching mechanism. Even with the use of limited switch dynamic logic based circuits, it is still desirable to minimize the complexity of the designs to reduce the area needed on a chip, as well as reduce the power consumption of the chip.
Thus, it would be advantageous to have an improved method and apparatus for a limited switch dynamic logic circuit in which the area needed for the circuit and the power consumed by the circuit are reduced.